Carton opening device



Dec. 31, 1968 A. JIVOIN CARTON OPENING DEVICE Sheet Filed May 20, 1966Dec. 31, 1968 A. JIVOIN 3,418,894

CARTON OPENING DEVICE Filed May 20. 1966 Sheet of 5 9 INVENTOR. Anton Jivoin BY Attorney Dec. 31, 1968 A. JIVOIN 3,418,894

CARTON OPENING DEVICE Filed May 20. 1966 Sheet 3 FIG.4-

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72 Anion Jivoin Attorney United States Patent 3,418,894 CARTON OPENINGDEVICE Anton Jivoin, 4307 N. Hamlin Ave, Chicago, Ill. 60618 Filed May20, 1966, Ser. No. 558,162 16 Claims. (CI. 9353) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A carton opening device comprising a pair of opposed jawsdisposed to receive diagonally opposite edges of a folded carton, onejaw movable in a path to open the carton with the other jaw and apreopener positioned in intercepting position to folded carton issuingfrom a magazine and comprising a jaw and a pin, the jaw embracing anedge portion of such folded carton while the pin enters the foldedcarton to separate the overlapping walls of such carton to present thepartially open carton to the opposed jaws.

This invention relates to mechanisms for opening cartons, which arestacked folded in a magazine, preparatory to and then mounting the sameonto a mandrel whereupon the carton is sealed.

Present mechanisms utilize a vacuum suction cup structure which has beenfound to be excessively faulty and thus requires an operator present atthis station to aid the mechanism. The most common problem occurs inthese mechanisms reverse folding and once this occurs, the operator muststop the entire machine and reach into the mechanism and then manuallyeither extricate the defective carton or straighten it out and insert itonto the mandrel.

A general object of my invention is to provide a novel mechanism whichwill positively open the carton even though it may be bent or otherwisemisshapen such as cannot be handled by present vacuum systems.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide :a novel cartonopening device which incorporates means for preliminarily opening thecarton so as to prevent reverse folding and thus entirely eliminatemalfunction such as previously described.

A further object is to provide an entirely mechanical structure forpositively opening the folded cartons and then ejecting the open carton,with the sides held square, onto a mandrel positioned to receive thecarton.

These and other objects of the invention will become more readilyapparent from the following specification and drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of my novel carton opening anddelivering mechanism;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken essentially on line 22 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 2a is an enlarged detail of FIGURE 2 showing the movable cartonengaging jaw in its lower position.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially on line 33 ofFIGURE 2 showing the carton opening spindle retracted;

FIGURE 3a is similar to FIGURE 3 showing the parts preparatory toextension of the spindle;

FIGURE 3b shows the parts with the spindle extended;

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the carton opening spindle structure;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the carton discharging devicetaken substantially on line 55 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5a is a sectional view taken substantially on line 5a5a of FIGURE5 in one position of the feeder; and

Patented Dec. 31, 1968 FIGURE 5b shows the feeder in another positionthereof.

Description of the invention The carton opening and mandrel feedingdevice is generally designated 2 and comprises a frame 3 having a base 4which carries a plurality of laterally spaced side uprights 5, 6 and enduprights 7, 8 which are interconnected by transverse horizontal braces 9to form a magazine 10 in which there are stacked a plurality of foldedcartons 11.

Each carton 11 is a square tube having top and bottom walls 12 and 13and side walls 14 and 15. As is well known in the art, each top andbottom wall has an extension lap 16 as best seen in FIGURES 3-317 whichare guided at their free edges 17 (FIG. 3) along the interior surface 18of the end braces 7 and the other ends 17a of the cartons are guidedalong the interior surface 18a of the opposite end braces 8. Thediagonally opposite lateral edges 19, 20 (FIG. 2) are guided along theinteriors of the opposite braces 5, 6.

Below the magazine there are provided opposite supports 22, 23 carriedfrom the frame elements '5, 6. The support 22 comprises a ramp with adownwardly inwardly sloping surface 24 which supports the lowermostcarton along the lateral edge 19 of the lowermost carton which at saidedge is adapted to slide downwardly. The opposite lateral edge 20 of thecarton rests upon an upper ledge or tooth 25 of an oscillatingstepby-step discharging or metering device 26. The discharging device 26comprises a vertically elongated bearing hub 28 which has a centralvertical bore 29 which admits a pivot spindle or pin 30 therein. Thebore 29 has an intermediate reduced diameter portion 32 and the pin hasa complemental portion 33 extending through portion 32, the lower end ofportion 33 is provided with a head 34 recessed in a counterbore 35engaging with its upper side against the under shoulder 36 and theenlarged portion 37 of pin 30 engages the top side 38 of shoulder 36whereby the hub 28 is held against axial or vertical shifting.

The upper ledge 25 and a companion lower ledge or tooth 40, which isspaced below the ledge 25, approximately the thickness designated a inFIG. 5b of the folded carton 11 are formed about the circumference ofthe hub 28 and are respectively tapered radially outwardly to form sharpapices 42, 53. Ledge 25 has upper and lower radially outwardlyconverging surfaces 44, and ledge 40 also has similar upper and lowerradially outwardly converging surfaces 46, 47. On the carton engagingportion of the hub, the ledges 25, 40 are cut ofi? to provide chordaledges 48, 49 (FIG. 5) which are offset circumferentially from each otherapproximately 120 and thus they provide offset sectors 50, 51 which in avertical plane are contiguous to each other as best seen in FIGURE 5.

In operation the downward inclination of the ramps 24 (there beingseveral longitudinally spaced of the carton) opposing the meteringmechanism 26 causes the lowermost carton to be wedged toward the annularpe riphery 52 of the hub 28 while this carton engages on its bottom sideas a 53 adjacent to its edge 20 the top side 44 of the ledge 25. Theescapement mechanism is caused to oscillate in timed sequence ashereinafter described to withdraw the tooth sector from under thislowest carton and clear the edge 20 by disposing edge 48 parallel withedge 20 clear of the same. Thus the lowest carton drops by gravity ontothe lower tooth sector 51 which has been moved to catching position. Inthe meanwhile this carton has shifted slightly laterally in thedirection of the edge 20 by sliding on the ramp surface 24. As themechanism 26 is oscillated in a return motion, the upper tooth cleavesbetween the lowermost carton and the one next thereabove as at 57 (FIG.5a) while the tooth sector 51 withdraws from under the lowermost carton.Upon the edge 49 aligning with edge of this carton the latter drops andconcurrently this carton slides or shifts laterally in a directiontoward edge 20 in view of the ramp angle of the surface 24.

As this lowermost carton drops from the supports 22, 23 it is guided inits fall to rest adjacent to its edges 19, 20 upon the inwardly directedlips, or lugs or flanges 59a, 60a of opposed jaws 59, 60. Simultaneouslythe end flap 16 (which is along guide 7) of the top wall 12 of thelowermost carton slides along a vertical surface 61 on the combinationguide and holder element 62 of the carton opening initiator devicegenerally designated 63. Surface 61 is initially in vertical alignmentwith surface 18 as best seen in FIGURE 3. The flap 16 comes to rest uponthe pointed end portion 64 of the opener spindle 65 and the weight ofthe carton partly opens it. Thereupon hydraulic or pneumatic fluid isexhausted from a holding chamber 67 in a cylinder 68 (FIG. 1) whereuponthe plunger or pin 65 is urged toward the carton by spring 69 (FIG. 3a)expanding, said spring being disposed within a horizontal bore 70 in ahousing 71 of the opener between a shoulder 72 provided on one end of abearing 73 which is fitted into an intermediate reduced section 74 ofbore 70, the bearing sleeve affording a sliding mount for a tubularreciprocal portion 75 of a follower 76 which includes a vertical frontmounting flange 77 which provides an abutment for the other end of thespring 69. Flange 77 slidably supports a carton flap catching jawelement 78. The element '78 is provided with vertically elongated slots(FIG. 4) 79, 79 and held in place by screws 80, 80 which are threadedinto flange 77. The heads 81 of the screws are recessed in thecountersunk portions 82 of slots 79 so as not to present obstructions tothe drop of the cartons.

As best seen in FIGURES 3, 3a, 3b and 4, the element 78 is provided witha horizontal slot 83 which is in horizontal alignment with the flap 16of the carton and the outer edges '84, 85 of the slot 83 are rounded tofacilitate entry of flap 16 into the slot 83 as the follower 76 and jawelement 78 extend out of the cavity 86 in the housing 71 pursuant toexpansion of the spring 69. Upon the follower 76 reaching the outwardlyextended position of FIGURE 3a wherein the shoulder or abutment ring 87on the tubular portion 75 of the follower engages the limit shoulder 88at the rear end of the reduced bore section 74. Thereafter fluid isported into the chamber 89 (FIG. 1) of the cylinder 68 behind the piston90 urging the piston leftwardly (FIG. 1) with the stem 91 which may bepart of the plunger 65. The plunger disengages its rear shoulder 90afrom the inturned shoulder 90b in the follower 75 and is urged ontwardlythrough a bore 90:: in the follower 75 and through an enlarged opening91a in element 78 into the adjacent end of the carton 11 and in view ofthe taper of the conical end portion 92, the jaw element 78 is caused tomove upwardly, which being in engagement with a portion of the flap 16of the carton, causes the upper wall 12 thereabove to separate from theside wall 15 therebeneath as seen progressively from FIGURE 3 to FIGURE3b.

Concurrently with the carton being opened by the preopener, whichprevents reverse fold, the movable jaw 60 (FIG. 2) is actuated from theposition shown in solid lines in FIGURE 2 to the dotted lower positionby a ram 93 which has its cylinder 93a pivoted at 93b to a frame anchorand has a piston rod 94 connect to a dependent portion 95 of jaw 60which in turn is provided at each end with a roller guide 96 rotatableon a horizontal pin 97 mounted to the related end of jaw 60. The roller96 moves within a guide track or slot generally designated 98a whichcomprises a horizontal upper portion 98 which 4 at its inner endconnects with a downwardly and inwardly curved cam portion 99 (FIGURE2).

It will be seen in FIG. 2 that the jaw 60 is somewhat .reverse L-shapedin cross-section with the upstanding back side portion 100 and on backside 100a is sloped upwardly and inwardly for complementally engaging atapered roller 101 rot-atably mounted upon the lower end of a pin 102which at its upper end is connected to the outer end of a horizontallyextending lever arm 103 (FIGS. 2 and 5), the inner end of arm 103 beingconnected to the hub 28, said hub being connected to another arm 104which is connected to a return spring 105, the spring being connected toan anchor 106 on the support frame.

Thus the metering device 26 is biased in a clockwise direction towardthe jaw 60 and upon the jaw 60 moving outwardly in the direction of thearrow in FIG. 5 the metering device 26 is rotated in a counterclockwisedirection and upon the jaw being moved inwardly, the springcounter-rotates the device 26 whereupon the cartons drop by one inconsequence of oscillation of device 26 as heretofore explained. Theclockwise movement of the device 26 is limited by a stop 107 on theframe in the path of movement of the arm 103 as best seen in FIG. 5.

It will be observed that at the juncture of the portions 100 and 60a,the jaw 60 is recessed to provide a longitudinal groove 108 wherein theedge 20 of the carton being processed enters to prevent its escape.Simultaneously with edge 20 entering groove 108, the jaw 59 which isL-shaped in cross-section, and is pivoted on a horizontal axis at theupper end of its upstanding flange portion 109 (FIG. 2) by a rod or pin110 from the support frame, pivots in a clockwise direction as best seenin FIG. 2 from the full lines to the dotted lines and the edge 19 entersinto the longitudinal groove 112 formed in the junction of the portions109, 59a of the jaw 59.

Jaw 59 is biased to its supporting position shown in full lines in FIG.2 by a counterweight 114 which is provided on the lower end of an armportion 115 extending downwardly and outwardly from the underside of thejaw 59, the inward swing of the jaw 59 being limited by abutment of thecounterweight against a frame member 116. The dumping position of jaw 59is shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 2.

Upon the movable jaw 60 being positioned in its lowest position (seeFIGS. 2 and 2a) the carton is opened fully and assumes a square shape.As the jaw 60 starts its descent the plunger 65 is retracted to theposition of FIGURE 3.

Upon the carton being fully opened as seen in phantom lines in FIGURE 2it is engaged at its corners by the horizontal and vertical rollers 118,119 on jaw 60, rollers 120, 121 on the supports 116, 122 and rollers123, 124 on supports 125, 126.

The opened carton as shown in FIGURE 2 is then engaged by an ejector 127from one end, the ejector comprising an upright finger element with ahooked over end portion 128 which overhangs the carton. The lower end ofthe finger is furcated and mounts a roller 129 which rides on the upperedge 130 of the upright leg 131 of the inverted T-shaped guide 132. Thelower ends of the furcations are provided with outturned lugs 133 whichmount bolts 134, 134 which provide vertical journal axes for rollers 135which flank the leg 131 and roll along its sides 136. The base web 137of the T is connected to the frame structure.

The ejector is actuated by a ram 140 moving a stepped piston 141connected to the ejector, the latter moving the carton longitudinallyonto one of a plurality of man drels 142 which are sequentially alignedwith the carton being ejected for carrying the car-ton to an associatedcarton bottom sealing station as shown and described in my companionapplication Ser. No. 527,135, filed on Feb. 14, 1966, entitled CartonSealing Apparatus.

It will be noted that after the carton is ejected the mechanism isconditioned to return the jaw 60 to its upper position whereupon the jawmoves laterally in the upper portion 98 engaging its upstanding flange100 with roller 101 whereupon the metering device is oscillated in acouterclockwise direction to drop the next carton onto the plunger 65and the ledges 59a, 60a. The sequence of operation heretofore describedthen continues.

It will be understood that various forms of the invention will becomereadily apparent from the foregoing disclosure within the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for opening a quadrilateral folded carton, said devicecomprising opposed jaw means disposed to receive diagonally oppositelateral edges of a planar folded carton, and means for moving at leastone of said jaw means diagonally of the plane of the folded carton in alocus coincident with that along which the related edge of the cartonmoves from the folded to the open position of the carton whereat saidcarton assumes its quadrilateral shape.

2. The invention according to claim 1 and the other of said jaw meansbeing pivoted on an axis generally parallel with said edges of thecarton for movement from a carton supporting position to a cartondumping position, and said one jaw means having an initial position in aplane substantially coplanar with the plane of the folded carton and afinal position transversely displaced from said plane and closer to saidother jaw means in accordance with the transverse dimension of thecarton.

3. The invention according to claim 1 and said other of said jaw meansbeing pivoted about an axis generally parallel with said edges and saidone of said jaw means being movable translationally.

4. The invention according to claim 1 and means for guiding said one jawmeans in a direction initially generally horizontally toward the otherjaw means in a plane generally coplanar with the carton and thereafterin a path diagonal to said plane toward said one jaw means.

5. The invention according to claim 1 and a magazine above said jawmeans, said jaw means disposed at opposite sides of said magazine, meansfor dispensing cartons individually from said magazine onto said jawmeans, means mounting said other of said jaw means to move from a cartonsupporting position to a carton dumping position, and means supportingsaid one of said jaw means to move initially toward the said one jawmeans in carton engaging relationship therewith and then downwardly andin a direction arcuately toward the carton subslantially in the locus ofthe edge of the carton as it moves to a squared position of the sides ofthe carton forming the edge engaged by said other jaw means.

6. The invention according to claim 1 and a carton feed magazinedisposed above said jaw means, means mounting one of said jaw means tomove in a direction away from the other of said jaw means, and cartondispensing means actuatable by said one jaw means attendant to movementof the latter as last aforesaid.

7. The invention according to claim 6 and said dispensing meanscomprising an element pivotal on a substantially vertical axis andhaving a pair of circumferentially ofiset vertically spaced upper andlower supports alternately oscillatable on said axis to positionssupporting the lowermost carton initially upon the upper support andthen upon the lower support and then dropping that carton upon said jawmeans attendant to said one jaw means moving away and then toward andthen away from said other jaw means.

8. The invention according to claim 1 and carton preopener meanscomprising an element disposed in a position to engage with an upperpart of an end portion of a folded carton in supporting relation theretoand with the lower portion hanging downwardly below said element.

9. The invention according to claim 8 and said element having a wedgingsegment and means for entering said portion into the end of the cartonto prevent reverse folding upon operation of said jaw means.

10. The invention according to claim 9 and means for grasping said upperpart of said end portion actuatable transversely of said elementpursuant to said wedging segment being entered into said carton.

11. In a carton forming device having a source of folded carton, eachcarton having edge portions, and carton opener means receiving thecarton from said source, automatic mechanical preopener means disposedin intercepting relationship to cartons moving from said source to saidopener means and comprising jaw means movable into temporary graspingposition with the edge portions of successive cartons moving from saidsource to said opener means.

12. The invention according to claim 11 and said preopener means furthercomprising a plunger extensible into an intercepted carton grasped bysaid jaw means and having means cooperable with the jaws means formoving the same transversely of the engaged carton and said plungerconcurrently movable into the carton for partially opening the carton toprevent reverse fold, said preopener cooperably associated with saidopener means for opening the carton.

13. The invention according to claim 11 and said jaw means reciprocalendwise of an intercepted carton in grasping position of an edge portionof a wall of such intercepted carton, and a plunger reciprocal endwiseof the intercepted carton and extensible into the end of such cartonbetween opposed walls thereof.

14. The invention according to claim 13 and means for moving said jawmeans transversely of the carton wall grasped thereby and moving theplunger into the carton.

15. The invention according to claim '14 and said means for moving thejaw means comprising an enlarged opening in the means receiving theplunger therethrough and a cam surface on the plunger engageable with anedge surface of the opening and operative to move the jaw means asaforesaid attendant to said plunger reciprocating therethrough.

16. The invention according to claim 11 and said jaw means comprising aslot alignable with an edge wall portion of said intercepted carton andhaving diverging lips flanking the slot to facilitate entry and exit ofthe edge portion of a carton with respect to the slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,887,021 5/1959 Duffy et a1.9353 2,907,252 10/ 1959 Owens 93-53 X 3,044,371 7/1962 Gastright 93533,143,937 8/1964 Martin 93-53 BERNARD STICKNEY, Primary Examiner.

